1 Corinthians 13  The Love Sandwich

22 October 2017 Westhill Community Church

I am sure most of you are familiar with the “Love Is” series of cartoons. The original drawings were private communications between New Zealander Kim Grove and her future husband Roberto Casali, fifty years ago. From 1970 onwards they were published as newspaper comic strips under the pen name Kim. In 1975 Kim commissioned London cartoonist Bill Asprey to take over the “Love Is” cartoons under the same pen name.

They are still going strong. For a generation they have delighted people and made them think.

One of the all-time favourites was “Love is … being able to say you’re sorry.”

Another one that touched many hearts was “Love is … when nothing is too much trouble.”

Well the phrase “Love Is” was initially brought to us centuries before Kim Casali started her delightful cartoon series. When the Apostle Paul wrote these words in 1 Corinthians 13  I wonder if he had any idea of the extent to which they would be cherished and honoured by successive generations. Of course this passage has been a great favourite for reading particularly at marriage ceremonies. But, unlike Kim Casali’s cartoons, which have predominantly focussed on love within the context of married life, this passage is not specifically or even generally about marital love. Setting the passage within its context reveals why this is so.

At the end of chapter 12 Paul writes, “Now eagerly desire the greater gifts, and yet I will show you the most excellent way.” At the beginning of chapter 14 Paul writes, “Follow the way of love and eagerly desire gifts of the Spirit, especially prophecy.” Chapter 13 is sandwiched between the two – a love sandwich! The love he describes is to be experienced in the context of the body of Christ worshipping together, living together and working together. Every single one of us who belongs to the family of God’s people in Christ has a part to play, and the way of love he describes in Chapter 13 is the way each of us is called to follow.

Now, note this carefully. In the whole of chapter 13 there is no imperative, no command, no instruction. The entire chapter is a description of the nature of God’s love as it works in us and through us. So is there an exhortation, command or instruction to us?

Yes, there is. It is in chapter 14: 1 “Follow the way of love and eagerly desire gifts of the Spirit, especially prophecy.” The Greek word translated “eagerly desire” in the NIV is “zeloo,” which means “strive after,” or “burn with zeal in pursuit of.”

There are two grave errors that Christians can fall into. The first error is not to follow the way of love; the second is to disregard or neglect the gifts of the Spirit.

In the first case, as Paul eloquently explains in this chapter, the most powerful gifting achieves absolutely nothing of value unless it is motivated by and energised by the love of God working in us and through us. Why, did not Jesus himself warn that on the day of judgement many will boast of prophesying, or casting our demons, or performing many mighty miracles, all in His name, and He will say, “I never knew you – depart from me you workers of lawlessness” (Matt 7: 22-23).

The second error is equally devastating to the life and ministry of God’s people. God’s people cannot achieve God’s purpose and glory unless they are empowered by and equipped by the Holy Spirit. Jesus told those first disciples not to even think of commencing the Great Commission until they had received the power of the Holy Spirit, and His equipping to be effective witnesses for Jesus. This is why Paul says, “burn with zeal in pursuit of the gifts of the Holy Spirit.”  I have used the term “grave error” deliberately. For these two errors, if fallen into without correction or repentance, will lead inexorably to the grave. Growth will cease, fruitfulness will wither, numbers will decline, vision will be lost, and eventually the church will die. If non-Christians visit us, and they do not find the love of God melting us, moulding us, filling us and moving us then they will walk away again untouched and unmoved. And even if we pour out all of the human resources and energy we can muster into this community, but without the directing, guiding and equipping of the Holy Spirit, then those in desperate need of the saving power of Christ will remain in their desperate state.

I have spoken of the grave, of the potential for the decline and eventual death of a church. The statistics for church membership in the UK between 1900 and 2015 make grim reading. According to the faithsurvey.co.uk website, in 1900 one third of the UK population were church members of one denomination or another. This has now reduced to less than 10%.

If the trend since 1900 is continued without change sometime between 2060 and 2070 the church in the UK will disappear. I am not saying that abandoning the way of love and failure to strive after the gifting and equipping of the Holy Spirit have been responsible for all of this decline, nor should we assume that any one local church that closes is guilty of these or any other errors. But Jesus himself warned that in the last days many will be led into deception, will turn away from the faith and their love will grow cold (Matt 24: 10-12).

In the light of this very thing happening in these green and pleasant islands, before our very eyes, we should be stirred as never before to commit ourselves to God in response to the Word of God that we are considering today. Follow the way of love; zealously pursue the gifts of the Spirit, especially prophecy.

Or, to put it another way: let God’s heart move your actions; let God’s word fill your lips.

Now some of you are possibly asking yourselves, “When is he going to get around to expanding on these verses in 1 Corinthians 13?” The answer is, “I am not.” There is too much to say – every phrase is full of meaning. But I will challenge you to read this chapter every day this coming week, perhaps using a different Bible translation each day.  You may find it helpful sometimes to replace the word “love” with “God’s love in me.”  Another helpful technique for verses 4 to 8 is to replace the word “love” with your own name; ask yourself could this honestly be written of me as my epitaph?

But I do need to say something about love, since there is a distinct possibility that we might be misled in our understanding of the meaning of love. There are many views today as to what love is, and many actions defended on the basis of ethical statements such as, “If we love each other then it can’t be wrong.”

Mark Strange, the Primus of the Scottish Episcopal Church and the Interim Bishop of this Diocese put it very succinctly last week when, in response to the sanctions imposed on the Scottish Episcopal Church by the rest of the Anglican Communion, he said that the Church had reached its decision on same-sex marriage in the belief that “Love means love.”

Now this phrase is, of course, a truism, and hence perfectly correct. But I am sure Bishop Mark would be the first to say that this phrase, in itself, does not shed much light on the subject. It is therefore quite right and proper for us to follow his lead, and to seek further insight into the meaning of love.

The Bible tells us that God is love (1 John 4: 8), but this does not imply the opposite. In other words we cannot conclude that all love inevitably is of God or pleases God.

You see the scripture also says, “Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in them” (1 John 2: 15). This tells us that the object of our love is crucially important. No matter how pure, how sacrificial, how devoted, how selfless our love is, if the object of our love is not what God would have it be then the love we have is not the Father’s love living and working in us.

There is another interesting, and somewhat perplexing, aspect of love. This is its expression sometimes in receiving and sometimes in giving – what C S Lewis calls “Gift-love” and “Need-love” [C S Lewis, “The Four Loves,” Geoffrey Bles, 1960].  We normally tend to the view that gift-love is a higher form of love – indeed did not Jesus say that there is no greater love than that which gives its life for its friends?

And yet when a suicide bomber kills indiscriminately men, women, children and babies, motivated no doubt by a deep love for their faith and their God, and willing to give their life as an expression of that love, we see it not as love at all but as the worst kind of evil. As Paul said in our reading today, it is quite possible to submit your body to the flames but not have true love. On the other hand, when a new-born baby cries out in desperation for its mother and finds comfort at the breast, we see that quite rightly as one of the purest and most God-honouring expressions of true love, even though it is almost exclusively expressing a need-love.

And this little bit of insight, gained from a new-born baby, actually helps us understand better the true meaning of love. You see, the closer we are to God, the more we know Him and the more we love Him, so the more we realise that our love for Him is at its best merely a need-love. You see there is nothing we can give to Him that will add to who He is or what He has. Like the new-born baby we cry out to Him in desperation and seek what only He can supply to make us whole and to sustain us. We come to Him for forgiveness; we come to Him for mercy; we come to Him for grace to help in time of need. We come to Him for temporal provision. We come to Him for peace and assurance.

Like that famous old hymn, “Rock of Ages,” says,

Nothing in my hand I bring, simply to Thy cross I cling.

Naked look to Thee for dress, helpless look to Thee for grace.

Foul I to the fountain fly. Wash me Saviour or I die.

Augustus Toplady (1740-1778)

This is what John meant in his first epistle when he spoke of “love for the Father” being in us. Every aspect of our expression of love to others – our service in the church, every demonstration of the gifts of the Spirit, our support of the weak, our providing for the poor, and yes, even our giving of our lives in martyrdom – must have as its first expression our love for the Father. All other expressions of love must start first with our love for the Father.

When I truly express my need-love to Him by seeking and receiving His forgiveness, then, and then only, will I be enabled to forgive others. When I express my need-love to Him by asking for and receiving my daily food, then, and then only, will I be enabled to supply the needs of others with Christ-like love.

In conclusion, I will leave the final exortation to the Apostle Jude:

“But you, dear friends, by building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in God’s love” (Jude 1: 20,21)

Steve Townsend, 22 October 2017